A Michigan lawmaker who spent campaign money at a strip club said it has “great lamb chops.”
State Rep. Jewell Jones, a Democrat, reported spending $221 in March from his campaign coffers at the Pantheion Club in Dearborn, The Detroit News reported, citing public records.
According to his word, this was a campaign tactic to involve himself with voters and discuss economic development.
“We have (to) meet people where they’re at some times … #HOLLA,” Jones said in a text message to a reporter Monday.
He added that the suburban Detroit club has “great lamb chops.”
Jones also spent about $700 at a Las Vegas restaurant in March. It was described in records as a “dinner meeting with other legislators.”
Further, during the first half of the year (Jan. 1 to July 20), media sources reported that Jones spent more than $6,000 at restaurants or lounges for “meetings.”
Simon Schuster, director of a watchdog group, the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, said it’s not unusual for a lawmaker to use campaign money for meals.
But doing so at a strip club “truly pushes the limit of credulity,” Schuster said.
Jones, who is in his mid-20s, has made headlines lately for a drunken driving case, which is pending in Livingston County.
The Associated Press contributed to this article